Interviews

BRIAN APODACA

By Leroy Douresseaux
May 13, 2005 - 16:56

Brian Apodaca is a new self-publisher. He recently published his debut comic book, a one-shot entitled REUNION, with art by Arturo Morales. I caught up with him for a few questions about the comic and his thus far short career:

Would you mind introducing yourself to the readers, a little biographical info, maybe?

BRIAN: I grew up in Huntington Beach, California, where I attended Ocean View High School (class of '94). Some of the events in REUNION are loosely based on things I experienced at my own reunion, or around that time. I love comic books, film, and music – but of the three, comics blow the other two out of the water.

How would you describe Reunion? What about it will interest potential readers?

BRIAN: Reunion follows a main character, Chaz, who's running through a day and a half in his life with a harried, hurried pace; he's running into all these people, and its really the story of how we, as people, deal with memories and old friends popping up again and how we deal or react to it.

An image from REUNION

You set Reunion in a high school reunion, something that is familiar to a lot of people. Is that the focus of the tale, or is it just a launching point?

BRIAN: At this point, the REUNION comic is a one-shot deal. I'm working with the artist, Arturo on an action/spy comic, to be released later this year, but REUNION is something we may revisit in the future. I have some ideas for further adventures with Chaz and his off-roading friend, Tuck.

What are your long-range publishing goals for Reunion? Will there be more, and how often will we see the title?

BRIAN: I might like to republish the book, in a "perfect" edition; a director's cut, if you will. We'd add some more to the story; allow the characters to breath a bit more. One of the main criticisms of the book has been its brevity, so we'd attempt to remedy that.

What books, movies, other comics, etc. influenced Reunion?

BRIAN: I wouldn't say REUNION is influenced by this book, since we started working on REUNION before I ever saw it - but - Demo, by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan, is just fantastic. I aspire to someday produce comics as mind-bogglingly good as those two.

Another image from REUNION

Other than that, David Lapham's done some fantastic work on Stray Bullets, and - well - I guess I'll join the choir and praise [Brian Michael] Bendis. His run with Alex Maleev on Daredevil is inspiring. As far as films, I guess I could cite everything from Flashdance to The Barbarian Invasions.

What influenced you to be a writer and still influences you as a writer?

BRIAN: I'm a huge Jack Kirby fan, and the power of his artwork, and the genuine nature of the man have impacted me since before I knew who he was. His artwork has informed everything that's come after in comics, and to a large extent - popular culture. It's kind of like the Beatles - as revered as he is, he still doesn't get enough credit.

That being said, Stan Lee is also huge. His sense of fun, combining hokey dialogue with introspection - well, he and Kirby as a team can't be touched.

I think John Steinbeck is fantastic, Alan Dean Foster is underrated, Grant Morrisson and Warren Ellis are consistently thought provoking and surprising, and Zadie Smith's first novel White Teeth," is really cool.

When did you first encounter comics, and what did you like to read?

BRIAN: I remember very early on reading an Incredible Hulk comic with an irradiated Rick Jones becoming a mini-me Hulk. Sometime in the 80's. Not too long after that, there were a few issues of the Transformers. Then I found out about a comic book shop in town, Comics Unlimited (in Huntington Beach), and managed to make a voyage down there with a childhood friend. We discovered GI JOE vs. the Transformers (the original Marvel limited series), and from that point on, I was hooked. So thank you HASBRO.

What are you reading now?

BRIAN: I'm hopefully going to be getting into Zadie Smith's sophomore novel, The Autograph Man," dealing with autograph shows and obsessive collectors. Perhaps something comics-folk might want to look at. Other than that, I just read Ultimate Iron Man #1, by Orson Scott Card and Andy Kubert, and I think it was really well done - really interesting. The multiple covers don't really excite me, but the story is damn good so far.

Would you mind talking about your collaborator, Arturo Morales, and how you hooked up with him?

BRIAN: Art's a great guy - a really talented artist. We had known each other for several years, having attended Comic-Con International, in San Diego, along with a small group of friends, but had never worked together on a project. Art was working with a mutual friend, Chris Davila, on a webcomic, www.contoons.com. At some point, he pulled out of that project, and so I ended up talking with him about doing the REUNION comic with me. He's really pretty educated on quite a variety of comic book artists, and he's been working on his own book, dealing with vampires, for a few years.

I should mention that the webcomic he did initial designs for - www.contoons.com, picked up another artist, Mike Lee, and is a pretty fun little website dealing with all the crazy experiences people deal with at comic conventions.

Art and I would like to thank you for your interest, and if you'd like to buy a copy of REUNION, or receive a copy for review, please drop us a line at reunioncomic@yahoo.com or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Reunion_Comix/

Also, feel free to fire us off an e-mail if you'll be attending Comic-Con International, in San Diego, and would like to chat or see the artwork up close.

Thank you, Brian. I included the last two paragraphs of Brian’s response email to me so that fans and new readers can contact Brian or visit him and Art at San Diego. Unfortunately, I won’t see you guys there this year.

Contact me if you’re a creator or publisher and you want to talk. Visit negromancer.com. Post fun messages on our weekly release thread http://www.comicbookbin.com/forums Holla!

Last Updated: March 3, 2025 - 20:40